# Roji

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{{Short description|Formal Japanese tea house garden}}
{{Italic title|reason=[:Category:Japanese words and phrases](/source/%3ACategory%3AJapanese_words_and_phrases)}}
[[Image:Jingu Chashitsu04.jpg|thumb|Roji leading to the Seigetsu [chashitsu](/source/chashitsu) at [Ise Jingū](/source/Ise_Jing%C5%AB); typical features include the stepping stones, moss, [bamboo](/source/bamboo) gate, and division into outer and inner gardens]]
{{nihongo|'''''Roji'''''|露地}}, lit. 'dewy ground', is the [Japan](/source/Japan)ese term used for the [garden](/source/Japanese_garden) through which one passes to the ''[chashitsu](/source/chashitsu)'' for the [tea ceremony](/source/Japanese_tea_ceremony). The ''roji'' acts as a transitional space leading from the entry gate to the teahouse, and generally cultivates an air of [simplicity](/source/Wabi-sabi) and [purification](/source/Ritual_purification).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nonaka |first1=Natsume |date=2008 |title=The Japanese Garden: The Art of Setting Stones |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24889320 |journal=SiteLINES: A Journal of Place |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |jstor=24889320 |access-date=2024-04-12}}</ref>

==Development==
The ''roji'' developed during the [Momoyama era](/source/Momoyama_era) (1573–1603) as the [tea ceremony](/source/tea_ceremony) established itself in Japan.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nonaka |first1=Natsume |date=2008 |title=The Japanese Garden: The Art of Setting Stones |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24889320 |journal=SiteLINES: A Journal of Place |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |jstor=24889320 |access-date=2024-04-12}}</ref> [Sen no Rikyū](/source/Sen_no_Riky%C5%AB) was important in the development of the ''roji''. At his tea house [Tai-an](/source/Tai-an), the 'sleeve-brushing pine' gained its name from the garden's diminutive size.<ref>{{cite book |title=The World of the Japanese Garden |author=Kuck, Loraine |publisher=[Weatherhill](/source/Weatherhill) |year=1968 |page=195f}}</ref> For his tea house at [Sakai](/source/Sakai%2C_Osaka), he planted hedges to obscure the view over the [Inland Sea](/source/Seto_Inland_Sea), and only when a guest bent over the ''[tsukubai](/source/tsukubai)'' would they see the view. Rikyū explained his design by quoting a verse by [Sōgi](/source/Iio_S%C5%8Dgi): "A glimpse of the sea through the trees, and the flash of the stream at my feet."<ref>{{cite book |title=Cha-no-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony |author=Sadler, A. L. |publisher=[Tuttle](/source/Tuttle_Publishing) |year=1962 |page=19 |isbn=978-0-8048-1224-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The World of the Japanese Garden |author=Kuck, Loraine |publisher=[Weatherhill](/source/Weatherhill) |year=1968 |page=196f}}</ref> [Kobori Enshū](/source/Kobori_Masakazu) was also a leading practitioner.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Garden Art of Japan |author=Hayakawa, Masao |publisher=[Weatherhill](/source/Weatherhill) |pages=[https://archive.org/details/gardenartofjapan0000haya/page/132 132ff] |year=1973 |isbn=978-0-8348-1014-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/gardenartofjapan0000haya/page/132 }}</ref>
[[File:Tea House and Roji at the Adachi Museum of Art.jpg|thumb|left|Roji with the Nijiriguchi (Entrance) to the tea house at the [Adachi Museum of Art](/source/Adachi_Museum_of_Art), Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, Japan.]]

==Features==
The ''roji'' is usually divided into an outer and inner garden, with a ''machiai'' (waiting arbour). Use of stone as both a decorative and a functional feature is characteristic of the ''roji''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nonaka |first1=Natsume |date=2008 |title=The Japanese Garden: The Art of Setting Stones |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24889320 |journal=SiteLINES: A Journal of Place |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |jstor=24889320 |access-date=2024-04-12}}</ref> Typical features include the ''tsukubai'' (ablution basin), ''[tōrō](/source/t%C5%8Dr%C5%8D)'' (lantern), ''[tobi ishi](/source/Step-stone_bridge)'' (stepping stones), and [wicket gate](/source/wicket_gate).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/r/roji.htm |title=Roji |publisher=[Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System](/source/Japanese_Architecture_and_Art_Net_Users_System) |access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/c/chaniwa.htm |title=Chaniwa |publisher=[Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System](/source/Japanese_Architecture_and_Art_Net_Users_System) |access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aisf.or.jp/~jaanus/deta/k/koshikakemachiai.htm |title=Koshikake machiai |publisher=[Japanese Architecture and Art Net Users System](/source/Japanese_Architecture_and_Art_Net_Users_System) |access-date=30 March 2011}}</ref> Ostentatious plantings are generally avoided in preference for [moss](/source/moss), [fern](/source/fern)s, and [evergreen](/source/evergreen)s, although [ume](/source/ume) and [Japanese maple](/source/Japanese_maple) can be used.<ref>{{cite book |title=The World of the Japanese Garden |author=Kuck, Loraine |publisher=[Weatherhill](/source/Weatherhill) |year=1968 |pages=198f}}</ref>

==Role in Tea Ceremony==
The garden acts as a transitional space between the outside world and the ritual seclusion of the ceremony.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kumakura |first1=Isao |title=Japanese Tea Culture: The Heart and Form of Chanoyu |date=2023 |publisher=Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture |pages=42–77}}</ref> Guests leave behind the outside world and prepare themselves for the aesthetic and spiritual dimension of the ceremony as they pass through the garden.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Okakura |first1=Kakuzo |title=The Book of Tea |date=2010 |publisher=Penguin Classics |location=New York |isbn=9780141191843 |page=51}}</ref> The ''roji'' also provides an opportunity for participants to purify themselves before entering the tea house by washing their hands and mouths with water at the ''tsukubai''. 

The host carefully cleans the garden before the ceremony begins. The host's preparations for the ceremony are thus an extension of the ritual of the ceremony. Preparing the garden is meant to clean and order the host's mind.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Jennifer L. |title=Japanese Tea Ritual: Religion in Practice |journal=Man |date=September 1987 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=475–498 |doi=10.2307/2802501 |jstor=2802501 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2802501 |access-date=12 April 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref> During the tea gathering, the ''roji'' is [sprinkled with water](/source/Uchimizu) three times as a form of repeated purification: once before the guests arrive, once during the ''nakadachi'' (a break in the ceremony), and once before the guests leave the teahouse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kumakura |first1=Isao |title=Japanese Tea Culture: The Heart and Form of Chanoyu |date=2023 |publisher=Japan Publishing Industry Foundation for Culture |pages=42–77}}</ref>

==Influence==
Sadler argues that the ''roji'', with its small size, harmonious proportions, and 'simple suggestiveness' served as a model for domestic Japanese courtyard gardens.<ref>{{cite book |title=Cha-no-Yu: The Japanese Tea Ceremony |author=Sadler, A. L. |publisher=[Tuttle](/source/Tuttle_Publishing) |year=1962 |page=21 |isbn=978-0-8048-1224-5}}</ref> ''Tobi ishi'', originally placed to protect the garden's moss, eventually took on an aesthetic nature. The stones were placed to slow down the visitors on their way to the tea house and encourage contemplation of the everyday, an enduring feature of Japanese gardens. Additionally, ''tōrō'', originally used to light the path for ceremonies held at night, were soon adopted as decorations for other types of gardens, a practice that continues.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nonaka |first1=Natsume |date=2008 |title=The Japanese Garden: The Art of Setting Stones |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/24889320 |journal=SiteLINES: A Journal of Place |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=5–8 |jstor=24889320 |access-date=2024-04-12}}</ref>

==''Burakumin''==
In the works of Japanese writer [Nakagami Kenji](/source/Kenji_Nakagami), ''roji'', in the sense of "alley", can also be understood as a euphemism for the ''buraku'' ghettos, where ''[burakumin](/source/burakumin)'' people used to live.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cornyetz|first=Nina|title=Dangerous Women, Deadly Words. Phallic Fantasy and Modernity in Three Japanese Writers.|year=1999|location=Stanford University Press|pages=215}}</ref>
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==See also==
{{Portal|Garden}}
*[Tea garden](/source/Tea_garden)
*[Moss garden](/source/moss_lawn)
*[Tsubo-niwa](/source/Tsubo-niwa)

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Horticulture and gardening}}
{{Teas}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Chadō
Category:Japanese tea gardens

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roji](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roji) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roji?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.